Orange Cranberry Scones With Cranberry Glaze

With orange zest, fresh cranberries, and cranberry glaze, orange cranberry scones are a pretty way to enjoy a simple, classic baked treat.

We love cream tea scones because using high-fat cream increases both moisture and tenderness. When you make these orange cranberry scones, be sure to keep your cream, butter, and even your flour, super cold to ensure maximum flakiness.

If you have time, make a batch of homemade vanilla sugar with vanilla bean. It adds a soft and lovely vanilla flavour to the scone base!

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Method
• Tips & Notes
• Substitutions
• Recipe

Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the printable recipe card with full ingredient measurements and complete instructions.

Ingredients

Method

Preheat the oven to 400ºF (205ºC) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Slice ¾ cup (75 g) of the cranberries in half. Reserve the other ¼ cup (25 g) of cranberries for the cranberry glaze.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, and baking powder.

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Add the butter to the bowl. Use a pastry blender or fork to cut the cold butter into the flour.

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Continue to cut the butter into the flour until the mixture is coarse and crumbly. The butter pieces should be approximately the size of green peas or smaller.

Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture. Add the cream, orange zest, vanilla, and the ¾ cup of halved cranberries to the flour mixture.

Mix everything gently and quickly with a fork, then switch to mixing with your hands until the dough just comes together.

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Sprinkle a work surface lightly with flour. Using your fingertips, pat the scone dough into an 8-inch (20-cm) round disc.

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A bench scraper can really come in handy for pressing and smoothing the edges of your dough.

Cut the dough into eight wedges and gently transfer them to the parchment lined sheet.

Brush the top of each scone with a bit of the 1 tablespoon of cream. Once you’ve brushed the top of each scone, use any leftover cream to brush the sides.

Place the scones in the preheated oven and bake for 16 to 18 minutes, or until lightly golden. Cool the scones on the baking sheet set on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then transfer the scones to the rack itself to cool completely. Finish with cranberry glaze once cool.

Make The Cranberry Glaze

Combine the reserved ¼ cup (25 g) of fresh cranberries and 1 tablespoon of milk in a blender or food processor.

Purée the cranberries then press them through a small strainer, reserving the pink milk.

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Add the pink milk to the powdered sugar, ½ teaspoon at a time, stirring between each addition, until the icing reaches a consistency you like. Drizzle the cranberry glaze over the cooled scones.

Tips & Notes

Taking the time to slice the cranberries in half really does make a difference! It doubles the amount of berries in each scone and cuts down on bursts of large tart pockets of juice. This helps create a better balance with the orange zest! Slicing the cranberries literally takes minutes.

Cold butter is essential to create layers, however a good alternative is to cut room temperature butter into your flour, then freeze the bowl of flour and butter for 30 minutes before adding the cream, orange zest, and cranberries.

You can cut the scones into any shape you like — circles are pretty classic — however, the baking time make change. Just keep your eye on the oven for the tops or edges to start turning gold and remove them from the oven.

Don’t skip brushing the tops of the scones with cream before baking. The cream adds moisture, richness, and makes for a more tender scone.

Orange cranberry scones are best eaten the day they’re baked, however, you can store them in an airtight container or a large zip top bag on the counter for up to two days.

These scones freeze well! A good way to do this is to place the scones on a baking sheet in the freezer after drizzling with glaze. Once frozen, transfer the scones to a large zip top bag for up to two months. To thaw simply leave at room temperature until defrosted, or place in the microwave or oven at 350ºF (180ºC) until heated through.

Substitutions

To make a vegan version of these orange cranberry scones simply substitute cold vegan butter for regular butter, vegan creamer for heavy cream, and plant-based milk for dairy. Other than that follow the recipe as written!

If you don’t love cranberries, consider swapping them out for any other berries you like. Raspberries or blueberries are great! Feel free to substitute them in the glaze as well.

Orange and cranberry is a classic, festive combination, however, even if you omit the cranberries you’ll still have a tasty orange cream scone.

More Scone Recipes

Blueberry White Chocolate Scones

Vegan Scones With Strawberry Bay Leaf Jam

Blue Cheese Scones With Prosciutto

Raspberry Oat Scones

If you make this recipe, let us know by tagging @baked_theblog + #bakedtheblog on Instagram! We love to feel like we’re in the kitchen with you.

Recipe